Bucs Optimistic About Goldson Return

Monday Notes: S Dashon Goldson and several other players were limited during Monday's bonus practice, but Head Coach Greg Schiano is optimistic about their return this weekend...And other notes

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

S Dashon Goldson missed last Thursday's game but Head Coach Greg Schiano foresees a likely return in Seattle

The Buccaneers came back from their long weekend recharged and ready for a fresh start

CB Danny Gorrer could be activated from injured reserve as early as this week

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense will be without Mike Williams when it takes the field in Seattle on Sunday (and for the remainder of the year). Doug Martin isn't likely to be there either. Fortunately, the news is a little better for Tampa Bay's defense.

Starting free safety Dashon Goldson missed last Thursday's game against Carolina due to a knee injury, and linebacker Dekoda Watson left that contest early after hurting his shoulder. On Monday, after his team took back to the practice field to begin a new week of preparations, Head Coach Greg Schiano expressed confidence in the likelihood that both Goldson and Watson will be ready to play by Sunday.

“They’re all 'bumped' still, but I’m encouraged," said Schiano. "They’re going to be day-to-day but I’m encouraged. I think they’ll all be able to play come Sunday. I think what happens is they get back into action individually here during the week at different times.”

The Bucs don't have to submit their first official injury report of the week until Wednesday but Goldson and Watson were apparently somewhat limited on Monday. Schiano's reference to "all" of the defenders who are currently banged up likely included safeties Mark Barron and Keith Tandy, since a run of minor injuries at that position obviously creates a potential depth problem if some of them were still unavailable by week's end. Tandy sustained an ankle injury during Thursday's game while Barron has been playing through a nagging hip ailment. Given the extra weekend of rest following Thursday night's game, it appears that the defense will be at relatively full strength by the time the team jets off to Seattle on Saturday.

-- S Dashon Goldson missed last Thursday's game due to a knee injury

* As for that long and quiet weekend, it proved to be another opportunity, following the Bucs' Week Five bye, for the players to recharge and recover.

An NFL season is a grind for those involved, with the exhilaration of each game day coming at the price of a hard week of work, and then the whole thing starting up again hours later. It is most definitely a labor of love for the vast majority of players, but that doesn't mean the occasional break in the schedule is unappreciated. For the Buccaneers, a weekend of rest meant a little more than just recovery time for those with nagging injuries. It also offered a bit of welcome mental conditioning after the team's unexpected 0-7 start.

"Any time we get a few days off, it's like a breath of fresh air," said defensive end Da'Quan Bowers. "You get away from football, you get away from everything that is going on around here, take a step back, take a deep breath and come back ready to attack the next week. It's kind of like a new beginning. We came back and all of our focus shifted to Seattle and getting that win. There was a lot of positive energy today. I think with a good week of practice we can finally get this team going in the right direction, because Seattle's a really, really good team and it's going to take everybody to get the win."

Schiano said the coaching staff used the extra time to re-examine every aspect of their approach to winning games, from lineup changes to in-game strategy. That will hopefully produce better results in the second half of the season, but clear minds and renewed drive might be just as important.

"It's like a fresh start," said WR Tiquan Underwood. "Basically, it's like coming off a bye week. Some guys stayed here, some guys went home, but just to get away from football a little bit and put everything in perspective [let us] start fresh today."

* CB Danny Gorrer could return to the playing field as soon as this Sunday. Gorrer was put on injured reserve to begin the season, but it didn't end his chances to play this year because the Bucs chose to utilize their one "designated for return" tag on him. That meant that Gorrer was eligible to come off the I.R. list and return to the active roster after eight weeks had passed.

Gorrer's return to the active roster actually began on October 16 when Gorrer returned to the practice field, beginning a two-week window in which he could work out with the team without counting against the active roster limit. The groin injury that Gorrer had suffered early in the preseason had fully healed by then, and the practice time gave him a chance to round back into football shape. Having lost rookie cornerback Rashaan Melvin to the injured reserve list, the Buccaneers will certainly welcome the added depth provided by Gorrer, who was performing very well in training camp before his injury.